The Disney Movie That Was Big The Year You Were Born

The Brave Little Toaster will forever be a classic.

By
Gregory E. Miller

Oct 13, 2017

The Brave Little Toaster will forever be a classic.

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Disney

1967: The Jungle Book

The story of a man cub sporting inexplicable red underwear gave us two vintage party jams: bubbly bear Baloo's "Bare Necessities" and scary monkey King Louie's "I Wan'na Be Like You." The movie also marked both the end of an era and a new beginning, as Walt Disney himself died of complications from lung cancer during production. The Jungle Book was the final animated film he supervised.

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Disney

1968: The Love Bug

Anyone who's ever driven a Volkswagen Beetle — or any vehicle, really — should have a special fondness for this classic about a sentient car named Herbie who happens to be real good at driving real fast. Decades before Lightning McQueen blew the minds of kids everywhere with tricks and flash in Cars, Herbie was the humble little car that could.

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1969: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

Screen legend Kurt Russell — who you know now as Chris Pratt's dad in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — starred in this comedy as a college kid who gets shocked by a computer and absorbs its super smarts into his brain. Tempting as it may sound, do not try that at home.

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Disney

1970: The Aristocats

Long before the internet fell in love with memes personifying cats, Disney made everybody want to be one (oh, a rinky tinky tinky!). The story of a Parisian alley outsider who got in good with the fancy felines was catnip for audiences.

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Disney

1971: Bedknobs and Broomsticks

The 1964 smash Mary Poppins may be the most enduring of Disney's live-action/animated hybrid films, but Bedknobs and Broomsticks certainly has its supporters. Angela Lansbury, who two decades later would voice Mrs. Potts in a little movie called Beauty and the Beast, starred as a kindly witch in training. A magical, transporting bed takes her and three children on an adventure that ends with—you guessed it—an epic showdown with the Nazis.

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Disney

1972: Now You See Him, Now You Don't

Kurt Russell returned for this sequel to The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. But this time, instead of turning into a human computer, he turns invisible. Some people have all the fun.

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Disney

1973: Robin Hood

If as a child you found yourself strangely attracted to the fox at the center of Disney's animal-centric retelling of the folk tale, you are not alone. That silky British voice—c'mon! Many attempts have been made to capture the spirit of the outlaw hero who stole from the rich to give to the poor, but none have endured quite like this alluring Disney take.

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Disney

1974: Herbie Rides Again

Everyone's favorite car with a mind of its own returned six years after The Love Bug scored big. The sequel skipped the rehash of a race plot, opting instead for Herbie to play hero to an elderly woman being pushed out of her home by an evil real estate developer. If you don't find that impressive…pray tell, what has your Toyota Camry done for you lately?

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Disney

1975: Escape to Witch Mountain

Kim Richards, best known now as a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills trainwreck, starred as one of two orphans with special powers chased down by an evil millionaire—who, no, was not named Lisa Vanderpump.

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Disney

1976: Freaky Friday

Nearly 30 years before Lindsay Lohan switched bodies with Jamie Lee Curtis, Jodie Foster did it with her costar Barbara Harris in the original film. While this version is by all means lovely, I regret to inform you that it does not include a punk rock band called Pink Slip.

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Disney

1977: Winnie the Pooh

The willy-nilly, silly old bear first began appearing in featurettes in the '60s, but it wasn't until 1977 that Disney finally gave Pooh his own movie. The anthology film combined three previously released shorts with new material.

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Disney

1978: Return From Witch Mountain

A sequel to 1975's Escape to Witch Mountain, this film features two alien teens returning from Witch Mountain to face off with villains in Los Angeles. The franchise would go on to receive a TV sequel in 1982, as well as a theatrical reboot in 2009 starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

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Disney

1979: The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again

In the 1975 western comedy The Apple Dumpling Gang, three orphans strike it rich during the California Gold Rush, grabbing the attention of two holdup men played by Tim Conway and Don Knotts (Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show). The two bumbling baddies turn good by the end of the first movie, but their continued mishaps take center stage in the sequel.

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Disney

1980: Herbie Goes Bananas

Herbie returned for a third go-round in 1977 entitled Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, and the original film franchise came to a conclusion with this adventure in which Herbie heads to South America for some car-azy (sorry) hijinks. Herbie would go on to get a short-lived TV show in 1982, a TV movie remake in 1997, and a theatrical reboot in 2005 starring national treasure Lindsay Lohan.

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Disney

1981: The Fox and the Hound

The sweet story of Tod and Copper was essentially Romeo and Juliet with more fur. It's a real tear-jerker that doesn't pull its punches, giving us one of the most melancholy endings in the Disney animated canon.

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Disney

1982: TRON

Jeff Bridges starred in this sci-fi classic about a computer programmer who gets zapped inside of one. ("Computer fans may very well love it," the New York Times hilariously supposed in its review.) Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund joined Bridges for a follow-up in 2010, Tron: Legacy, and a new roller coaster based on the IP is coming soon to Disney World.

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Disney

1983: Mickey's Christmas Carol

Okay, so this one wasn't exactly a full movie, but its home release made it feel like one. The Disney-fied version of Charles Dickens's novel was put out as a sort of double feature alongside a theatrical re-release of 1977's The Rescuers. It's longer than a typical short at 26 minutes, and to many, an annual viewing is a holiday staple.

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Disney

1984: Pinocchio (Re-issue)

Look, the '80s were a rough time for the House of Mouse—there's an entire documentary about it called Waking Sleeping Beauty. The struggle to create good movies that made money was real, and it's no better exemplified than in 1984, the rare year that the studio didn't release a single new film under the Disney banner. Back then, though, theatrical re-releases of the animated hits were standard, and this one performed fairly well. Man-eating whales are timeless!

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Disney

1985: The Black Cauldron

Remember one slide ago when it felt like we had hit rock bottom? Welcome to 1985, the year Disney decided it'd be a good idea to make a terrifying animated fantasy film that, if watched once, will give you nightmares for the rest of your life.

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Disney

1986: The Great Mouse Detective

Sherlock Holmes wishes he were as clever as Basil of Baker Street, the rodent sleuth who investigates the disappearance of a toy-maker. Adventure abounds as Basil tracks down the culprit to be Ratigan—one of Disney's most underrated villains—who's planning to kill the mouse queen of England.

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Disney

1987: The Brave Little Toaster

The story of the courageous kitchen appliance searching for her owner didn't make much of a splash in theaters at the time, but its subsequent home video release turned it into a touchstone for young viewers. More than a decade later, it'd receive two direct-to-video sequels, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars and The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue.

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Disney

1988: Oliver & Company

This, erhm, twist on Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist takes the story to New York with a cast of lovable, if not particularly memorable, street animals. It's probably best recalled for its Billy Joel anthem, "Why Should I Worry," which we hear they love at the Chelsea and they adore at the Ritz.

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Disney

1989: The Little Mermaid

Oh, thank God. After years of middling success and some outright failures, we come to what's commonly referred to as the Disney Renaissance. The story of a ginger half-fish took the world by storm and launched a period in which the studio produced hit after hit. The soundtrack is arguably Disney's greatest, stuffed with unforgettable earworms such as the ultimate villain track "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and "Part of Your World," the perfect song to cry-sing in the shower.

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Disney

1990: DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp

The bigger box office hit in 1990 was The Rescuers Down Under, an Australian-set follow-up to 1977's The Rescuers. But kids went wild for the big-screen transfer of DuckTales, which wrapped up its TV run that fall. The show's returning this August for a revival on Disney XD—woo-oo!

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Disney

1991: Beauty and the Beast

The tale as old as time enthralled audiences with its glamorous story of Stockholm syndrome in an enchanted castle. It also made Oscar history as the first animated film ever to be nominated for best picture, and the only to do so when the category was limited to just five nominees.

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Disney

1992: Aladdin

The Arabian folktale gave us one of the Disney canon's greatest love songs, "A Whole New World," but the biggest mark it made was casting Robin Williams as the Genie. He was such a hit in the role that it disrupted the way the animation industry chose actors and sold films, phasing out voice thespians in favor of marquee names.

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Disney

1993: Hocus Pocus

After several massive wins, Disney didn't release an animated movie in 1993 under the main banner. But the studio did introduce us to three witches (including one played by Bette Midler) who come back to life to terrorize Salem, Massachusetts. Thanks to airings every October on the Disney Channel and ABC Family, it's now a cult favorite. This was also the year that The Nightmare Before Christmas hit theaters, making 1993 Peak Halloween.

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Disney

1994: The Lion King

You can shout just about anything to the tune of the opening of "Circle of Life," and chances are everyone around you will know exactly what you're attempting to sing. That's a testament to the legacy of the film, which also went on the become one of the most successful Broadway shows of all time.

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Disney

1995: Pocahontas

Disney's version of the Native American princess's story takes great liberties with her life, and that historical inaccuracy understandably didn't sit well with many. But the movie was still a big hit, with stunning animation and dazzling songs like "Just Around the Riverbend" and "Colors of the Wind."

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Disney

1996: 101 Dalmatians

A decade and a half before Disney started remaking every one of its animated hits in sight, the studio tried out a live-action version of 1961's One Hundred and One Dalmations. The fantastic casting of Glenn Close as the puppy-murdering Cruella de Vil made it a smash.

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